BRANDON, miss. — A Mississippi man was charged Saturday with making and possessing ricin for use as a weapon as part of the investigation into poison-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and others, authorities said.

U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams and Daniel McMullen, the FBI agent in charge in Mississippi, made the announcement in a news release Saturday after the arrest of 41-year-old James Everett Dutschke.

FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said Dutschke was arrested about 12:50 a.m. Saturday at his house in Tupelo.

The letters, which tests showed were tainted with ricin, were sent April 8 to Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and 80-year-old Mississippi judge Sadie Holland.

Dutschke is expected to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Oxford. He faces up to life in prison, if convicted.

The news release said Dutschke was charged with "knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining and possessing a biological agent, toxin and delivery system, for use as a weapon, to wit: ricin."

Dutschke's house, business and vehicles were searched last week, and he had been under surveillance.

Dutschke's attorney, Lori Nail Basham, said Saturday in a text message that "the authorities have confirmed Mr. Dutschke's arrest. We have no comment at this time."

Basham said last week that Dutschke was "cooperating fully" with investigators. Dutschke has insisted he had nothing to do with the letters.

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Charges in the case were initially filed against Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, but then were dropped. Attention then turned to Dutschke, who has ties to the former suspect, the judge and the senator.

Last week, as investigators searched his primary residence in Tupelo, Dutschke told The Associated Press, "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"I'm a patriotic American," he said. "I don't have any grudges against anybody. ... I did not send the letters."